Perceptions
by Wildjinx
Summary: Seeing the island community through the eyes of an "outsider" ...
1. Always the same

Always the same

It was always the same. Always the same. She couldn't remember how long that that had been her mantra. She stared at the sand in impotent rage; wanting to kick out at it, shatter it, wipe it from her sight, but that would be pointless. There was always more sand. All that the tantrum would accomplish would be scraped up feet , just further insult to skin already ravaged by sun and riddled with the bites of sand fleas. And just one more invitation of insult from the prince of paragons, Boone.

Hearing the companionable chatter of a party of survivors, she moved off further down the shore. She watched them from the corner of her eye, noticing that the tall one, Jen was still limping. Her friends, though, had their arms around her shoulders, supporting her efforts to wade into the water. Turning her back on the laughter and splashing, she turned toward the cover of the woods. As she sluffed through the sand, their seemingly benign laughter followed her; alienating her with its very friendliness, knowing that she wouldn't exactly be welcomed with open arms. It's not that they would openly scorn her, but there would be the awkwardness, the stiff formality that seemed to follow her. Her presence created the death of good times apparently. Just like always.

Okay, so she was pitying herself …. being worthless, as Saint Boone would say. But sometimes it just can't be helped. She wasn't a doctor like Jack, communications expert like Sayid, or whatever the hell it was that Kate was, so it's not like she had much to contribute. She could be called upon for scathing sarcasm, except that Sawyer, the Andy Griffith from hell, already had the job of resident smartass . She guessed she could run around trying to save people and failing miserably, but then Boone would feel his job threatened. That wasn't really fair though, Shannon supposed. He does mean well, after all, running around like a puppy trying to help his master but getting himself into trouble instead. If only he wasn't so sanctimonious! He never seemed to get the fact that she wasn't him, and wasn't interested in joining one of his endless crusades. But the more she tried to be herself, the more selfish she came across.

Moving along the tree line she paused at the sound of clipped voices. Looking through the branches of a wind bent tree, she could see the foreign, Korean couple arguing. Well the man was arguing, the woman just looked resigned. She recognized that look. The look that said it was easier just to agree, rather than try to prove them wrong. She recognized the vacant look that the woman had, just trying to tune out lecture. If only the woman spoke English, something tells her that they'd probably have something in common. But the woman was as trapped by circumstance as she was; no one understood either one of them. For the woman, it was language, but for Shannon, it was perception. It would do neither of them any good to scream … nobody would actually hear it anyway. The couple had apparently patched things up, meaning the man had deemed the lecture complete and was now offering the woman a flower. Sighing with resignation she moved on, keeping close enough to the beach to avoid the "thing" deeper in the jungle.

She had just settled down on a large boulder, perfect for brooding when something crashed out of the undergrowth behind her. Feeling her heart stop in fear, she was torn between relief and exasperation when all that emerged was the short blond that had been flirting with her for weeks now. Anticipating another amorous assault she covered her face in her hands to deflect his advances. But to no avail. Finding herself pinned under him, with no one to help, she gave up resisting and lowered her hands. Her capitulation was met with wet, awkward kisses and infatuated brown eyes. Pushing his face away, and scrubbing her hands over her face, she glared down at him half-heartedly. After all, he was the only one here that seemed to enjoy her company and listened to her without judging.

Too bad he was a dog.

"Vincent, knock it off. People will start to talk!" she chided him. With a muffled woof, he plopped down , resting his head on his paws and gazed up at her. "You don't want them to think that I actually have redeeming qualities, do you?" His only response was to twirl his eyebrows in a move that would make any teenage girl envious. Scratching his head, she stretched out her legs beside him. "What are you doing out here all by yourself? Did you leave the kid for me? Really, I don't want to be a home wrecker , you know".

Another eyebrow wiggle.

They sat together in companionable silence, with his head resting on her lap. Stroking the soft fur on his ears, she felt calmer, normal somehow. As if none of this had ever happened. A dog was normal, everyday stuff, not something to do with plane crashes or family squabbles. The dog had been following her for a while now, whenever it managed to get off the kid's leash. She still has no idea why the mutt had taken to her, of all people. After all, everyone stayed away, afraid of catching some kind of snob contamination. Thanks to Boone, everyone treated her like a spoiled brat. Well that was just fine with her. The less people interacted with her, the fewer people she would disappoint. Sometimes it was just easier to deal with people's low expectations of her. You tell a child that they are bad often enough, they come to believe it and become it. So too was the case with her. This was the role she was apparently given in life, so may as well stick with it. Whenever she tried to move away from that, things went wrong and she had to endure another round of head shaking, condescending interventions. Ultimately, that was why she ended up on the stupid plane anyway.

Vincent scratched frantically at something on his side then looked to her for help. "Don't look at me, Fido, I have just as many flea bites as you. You've come to the wrong place for sympathy". Still, she affectionately scratched the area, earning her a look of pure bliss and gratitude. "Your kid must be getting worried about you, now. Go on, you can visit me later. I don't want to responsible for making the kid cry." Waving the dog off in the direction of the woods, she dusted the sand off her shorts and started to walk away.

With a sharp yip, the dog sat down and stared at her. Lifting his front paw, he watched her expectantly.

"Okay, yes, you're a smart boy. Yes, we can shake. But it's time for you to go home now." Vincent took a few steps toward the jungle, stopped, looked over his shoulder at her and waited.

"What? Are you afraid to go by yourself all of a sudden? Surely you don't think I can protect you?" His only response was to sit down on his haunches and twirl those eyebrows again.

Unwilling to go back to the beach just yet, she sighed and said "You are really going to make me go in there with you, aren't you?" With a wag of his tail he stood and waited. "Okay, fine. You lead the way. But if that thing comes around, you're on your own, buddy. I'm running as fast as these legs can go". Seemingly unperturbed, the dog started off, keeping his pace slow enough that they could walk side by side.

Chatting away with the dog, Shannon couldn't help but find it amusing that she felt more companionship with this dog, than she did with her whole family. "Well Vincent, it seems that I've finally found someone who doesn't care that people think I'm a bitch". Vincent snorted in a canine version of laughter and she felt that had she been looking at his face, she'd have seen him roll his eyes at her pun. Smiling softly, she ambled along after him.

She could hear the sounds of the camp, even before they rounded the path to the caves. The funny guy, Hurley, was arguing with the skinny musician about the virtues of acoustic versus electric guitars. While she'd put faith in Charlie's knowledge, Hurley's wit alone would have made her side with him. How that guy kept such a happy go lucky attitude, she'd never know…. After all, golf? It was absurd and useless. And she loved it. Charlie, though was distracted by the pregnant girl Claire. Trying not to be obvious, and yet failing miserably, he kept looking over at her, checking to make sure she was napping peacefully. She wondered if Claire had a clue about Charlie's interest. With a sad shake to her head, she skirted around them, as Vincent walked and sniffed his way "home".

As her eye's adjusted to the dimmer light of the caves, she sighed at the cooler temperature. Bending down to tie her shoelace, she heard low chuckling off to her right. Jack and Superwoman Kate were talking by the waterfall. Shannon watched as they leaned toward each other, unconsciously mirroring each others body language as Jack helped her fill up her water bottles. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but smiled in spite of herself at their interaction. Jack said something that caused Kate to playfully punch his shoulder, eliciting a grin from him in return. Her smile slipping in renewed loneliness, she looked down as Vincent pushed his head under her hand for a scratch, offering her his own brand of affection.

"Vincent!"

She whirled at the shout and sound of pounding feet as the boy, Walt, tore himself away from a hassled looking Michael and embraced the dog. "Where have you been, boy? Why'd you run off? " He spoke to the dog, but Walt's earnest young eyes looked up at Shannon.

Suddenly feeling out of place and awkward, she hide behind her protective wall. Shrugging her shoulder, all she said was, "He was at the beach."

Turning to leave the questioning look of the cave dwellers, she only managed to take a few steps before hearing an all too familiar voice. "Shannon!" Amazing how he always managed to make her name sound like a curse. Settling her face into its haughty mask, she turned to him.

"Now what, Wonder Boy? Found a little baby monster you want me to help you heal?" she snapped at Boone.

"What were you thinking going off like that? Don't you have any sense? You do know the jungle is dangerous, don't you? Or did you forget that little bit of reality? Look at you! You didn't even bring any water bottles with you? Don't you ever think of anyone but yourself?"

Rolling her eyes in a way that Vincent would be proud of, she flicked a dismissive hand at Boone and walked off, trying to tune out the continuing diatribe, while avoiding the eyes of everyone around her. Boone turned away in disgust and went over to fill bottles. Seeing her chance to escape, she left the caves. Well, at least they'll have some fodder for the gossip mill, she thought to herself. Not that Boone chastising her was anything new.

After all, nothing ever changes. It was always the same.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the person behind her until he touched her arm. Whirling around, prepared to scorn Boone, she stopped mid rebuke.

"Thank you for bringing back my dog. That was nice of you."

Still smarting from Boone's set down, she looked down at Walt and said "Not really. I'm not nice, remember? I'm the selfish one."

Turning to leave, she heard Walt say solemnly. "I don't think so. Vincent likes you, and he doesn't like mean people." Stopping, she turned back to him. "And any friend of Vincent is okay with me", Walt continued emphatically. Having said his bit, he gave a decisive nod and sprinted back up toward the caves. Vincent remained there a moment longer. Lifting his paw at her, he gave a short bark of friendship. "Come on Vincent! Time to go! We can visit her tomorrow if you want, " Walt hollered from up the path. With a stretch and a shake, he bounded after Walt.

And Shannon was left on the path alone.

Well, maybe not everything stays the same.


	2. The Club

The Club

"Dude, come on … why do you do this to yourself? Would it kill you to be helpful?"

"Well now, that's just it, ain't it? Maybe it would. Or maybe I just don't see the value in helping people who hate me, for nothing'."

Tipping her shades down, Shannon peered over the rims at the scene unfolding in front of her. Sawyer swaggered across the beach with an armful of metal debris, while Hurley trotted after him.

"Dude! Unless you want to give me CPR, slow down!" Bending over at the waist, hands on his knees, gasped Hurley .

Sawyer, sardonic smirk at its best, stopped and turned. Shifting his weight to one foot, he tilted his head back and grinned up at the sky. "Well golly, Romeo, if you just wanted a kiss all you had to do was wear somethin' pretty." Cocking his head to the side, he stared down at a glaring Hurley. "Now unless you've got somethin' to make it worth my while, I think I'll just truck on back to my castle here on the Island of Doom."

Rising up a bit on her elbows, she watched Hurley roll his head to the side and snort, "Like what, Sawyer? You've got pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down!"

"Temper, temper there funny man! How's about a weeks supply of water delivered to my doorstep, so to speak".

"For some writing paper?! No way, man. Four days. I'll bring you water for four days -- that's it."

"Hmm, four days, huh?" scratching his jaw with his free hand, Sawyer pretended to ponder the offer. "Well Hell, four days without having to listen to Doc Wonderful preach is better than nothing'. You have yourself a deal, Chuckles". Sauntering on down the beach, Sawyer passed by Shannon. Looking down at her, he smirked, "Tsk tsk, eavesdropping, princess? Didn't they teach you not to do that at 'Delta Gamma Stuck-up'".

Her comeback was cut short by the sound of masculine laughter behind her. "No, she was taking "Work Avoidance 101" instead."

Glaring at Boone, she threw her shoe at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. His only response was to laugh harder. "Oh! Shut up Boone! Go find a tree to hug!"

Getting up, she dusted the sand off her legs and stormed off down the beach, hoping the sound of the waves would drown out the snickering. Muttering to herself, she moved further down the coastline, putting distance between them … physical distance to match their emotional distance. "I don't even have to say a word, to get him criticizing me," she fumed. Scrambling over an outcropping of rocks, she continued to vent … letting anger camouflage the hurt. "All I was doing was minding my business and he comes along and … ouch"! Slipping on a loose pile of shells, she hit her knee on a sharp section of rock.

"Damn it!" dropping down onto the secluded bit of sand, she sat there with the injured knee drawn up to her chest. "Damn it!" she repeated before bursting into tears. It was just too much for her. First Sawyer's crack, then Boone's mockery, now this. Wallowing in her misery, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the gentle touch of a hand on her shoulder.

Whirling around, she found herself looking into the concerned eyes of the Korean woman. The woman said something to her in Korean. Wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand Shannon shrugged her shoulders, "you're wasting your time if you've come over to insult me….I don't have a clue what your saying". Turning away from the woman, she stared back out at the sea, hoping the woman would just leave her alone. The only thing worse than crying like a baby over a scraped knee, was being caught doing it. At least Boone hadn't seen it. Thank heavens for small mercies.

She heard the woman's retreating footsteps. "Not bad Shannon. You've managed to alienate someone in a foreign language now. Hmm, what next? Time to piss off the dog now, too?" Shaking her head in self-disgust, she caught some motion out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw the Korean woman coming back toward her with something in her hands. She watched warily as the woman knelt down in the sand next to her. Again the woman spoke to her in that clipped language.

"Look lady, I have no idea what you're saying, so you may as well save your breath."

Pointing to Shannon's knee, the woman held up the object she had brought over. It looked like part of a coffee mug with some cloudy white glop in it. There were even specks of green stuff in it.

"Um, yeah. Pretty mug. Not in the mood for tea, though. "

Even though the woman's head was tilted down, Shannon could have sworn she rolled her eyes at her. Scooping out some of the mixture, the woman smeared it on Shannon's knee. Humming softly to herself, she wiped her hands on the sand and gave the "container" to Shannon.

Looking from the piece of ceramic to the quiet woman next to her and back again, she felt more tears welling up inside. "Um, thank you," she said awkwardly. Bobbing her head, the Korean woman smiled tentatively at Shannon. "And, well, thank you for before, when I couldn't breathe. Jack and Boone told me you were the one who did the thing with the eucalyptus. I know you can't understand me, but, well, thanks anyway."

Expecting the woman to leave, Shannon was surprised when she sat down next to her and settled in. At a loss for what to say, and despite the language barrier, she fought the awkward silence. "So you like plants, huh?" "Brilliant, Shannon," she muttered to herself, "try to chat with the foreign woman". Shaking her head, she started to look back out at water, but the woman stopped her with a touch to Shannon's arm.

With her dark eyes intense, the woman said "Shannon" slowly and pointed at her.

Catching the woman's thought, she nodded her head and pointed to herself, repeating, "Yes, Shannon".

The woman smiled and pointed to herself "Sun".

"Oh, your name is Sun? Mine is Shannon. Oh, yeah, well I guess we covered that already, huh?" chuckling at herself, she looked at the woman next to her. "I guess you're kind of lonely here too, huh? I mean, I know you've got your husband here and all, but I just don't quite picture the two of you shooting the breeze. Not that there'd be much to say anyway; 'Gee honey, what did you do today?' 'Oh, well I looked at the sand. What about you?'"

The woman smiled and said something in Korean, that judging by her laughter was meant to be funny. Shannon started to explain that she didn't understand, but gave up and laughed with the woman.

Sitting companionably, they weren't disturbed until a slimy green ball was dropped at their side. Looking behind them they were greeted by a wide doggy grin.

"Hey Vinnie, whatcha doing out here?" she asked as she reached up to scratch behind his ears.

"He wants you to throw the ball," came the young voice, as Walt emerged from the tree line.

Pointing at the soggy ball between them, Shannon looked at Sun and raised her eyebrows. Sun gingerly picked up the ball and threw as hard as she could down the beach. As Vincent bounded down the shore with pure canine delight, Sun grimaced and wiped her hands in the sand.

"Wow, Sun, good throw. You'd have made a great 1st baseman!" Shannon laughed.

"Hey, how'd you know her name?" Walt asked as he plopped down in the sand.

Dodging Vincent's exuberant advances as he brought the ball back, Shannon chuckled and replied, "Well, she told me, kind of a 'Me Tarzan, You Jane' thing." Suddenly remembering herself, she stopped laughing abruptly and retreated behind her "wall". It was one thing to be relaxed around someone who didn't even speak English …..

"Yes well, you should keep that dog on a leash or something. He can't just keep running away from you like that."

Getting up to leave, she froze when she heard him say "Like you do when someone sees you being nice." Turning around, she saw Sun watching her with keen interest, and Vincent, the ball momentarily forgotten, staring at her with his head tilted to the side, as if waiting to hear her reply. Walt was kneeling in the sand watching her, his chin up, in the age old gesture of challenge.

"I already told you, I'm not -"

"Yeah, yeah. You said that you're not nice. But you were lying …. Adults always lie and stuff to kids, like they don't think we can tell." shaking his head at the follies of adults, he continued. "I don't know why, but you're just afraid to have people like you."

Nervously tossing her head back, she mustered up her haughtiest facial expression, saying, "What do you know anyway? You're just a kid".

"My step-dad said I knew lots of stuff and that age isn't everything. But it's okay, I won't tell on you. I'm good at keeping secrets". Tipping his head at Sun, "And I don't think she'll exactly be telling anyone either."

With all eyes on her, Sun smiled, and dipping her head rattled off something in Korean. Looking back at Walt, Shannon shrugged her shoulders and said simply, "Yeah, whatever."

"Besides", Walt said with a grin, "Vincent likes you and he'd be really sad if you didn't let us visit." As if on cue, the dog crawled on his belly toward Shannon, dropped his head on his paws and whined plaintively. But ruined the dramatic effect with an eyebrow wiggle and tail wag.

"Yeah well, there's no accounting for his taste, is there" she replied with a small chuckle.

Looking off down the coast, Sun started to stand. Following her gaze, Shannon watched the husband walk quickly up the wet sand, with his pants rolled up to his knees and two fish hanging from a shoelace. Barking out a series of commands, he strode towards her and nodded in the direction of the jungle. Turning back to Shannon, Walt and even Vincent, she smiled and said something. With a small wave she followed her impatient looking husband, presumably back to the caves.

"I guess we're all the same, huh?" Walt said suddenly as he threw the ball for Vincent again.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, we all seem to have people yelling at us and telling us what to do. She has that guy, you have your brother, and I have my dad."

Feeling awkward, Shannon stared at her feet for a minute and said "Yeah, well, I'm sure he loves you though."

"Yeah, I guess so. Like her husband does and your brother does. Too bad they aren't nicer about it."

Marvelling at the kid's perceptiveness, Shannon wished she'd saved her money on a therapist and waited to meet this kid.

"Fabulous. Our very own Gilligan's Island 'Breakfast Club'", she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't know about any kind of club." Walt said, the movie reference lost on him. Squinting up at Shannon he asked, "We wouldn't have to let that Sawyer guy in, would we?"

Choking back laughter, Shannon ruffled his short hair. "Kid, you and I are in total agreement on that one."

"Walt!"

Hearing his name being called, the boy looked up to the tree line. "Well, that's my dad. Guess I gotta go."

Nodding to Shannon, he waved goodbye. With his own woof of farewell, Vincent turned and chased after Walt.

Watching them go, Shannon was left standing on the beach holding a broken mug filled with goo, and a feeling she was afraid to name.

And suddenly she realized that her knee didn't seem to hurt much at all.


	3. Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera

She could get the whole "let's work together" thing …. Really, she wasn't oblivious. It's just that it didn't seem like anyone needed her. It seemed better to pretend that she didn't want to help, than be snubbed by others … that had happened too often in her young life, and she'd long since learned her lesson.

"Don't let them see that they are hurting you … it'll only encourage them. Pretend you don't care and they'll get bored and leave you alone", were words that had filled her childhood. So she learned to hold a book in front of her, looking for all the world as if she was deeply engrossed in its contents, when in fact it was all she could do to make out the words with eyes glassy from unshed tears.

Did she think that she was better than everybody else? No, not really. Some days it was hard enough to just think that she was better than what everybody thought _of_ _her_.

From her isolated spot on the beach, she watched others, those that hadn't moved inland to the caves, go about their island "jobs". Gathering firewood, sorting through baggage for supplies, etc. Every time she heard a group laugh, she winced inwardly, convinced that the joke was at her expense. Twin feelings of shame and despair warred within her. Despair at the thought that everyone hated her, laughed at her, mocked her, and then shame for thinking that people even noticed her …. She knew she wasn't the center of the world, but some days it just felt like every insult had her name on it.

As a trio of men move past her, loaded down with palm fronds, she quickly turned her gaze back to her magazine. "Focus on the article" she tells herself, "pretend to ignore them, so they'll ignore me".

"I would have thought you'd have that thing memorized by now".

Without looking up, she replied "Why, do you want to read it too? Need some tips on how to get your date to call you the next day".

Boone snorted at her and crouched down in front of her. Ignoring him, she turned the page with a flick of well manicured fingers. "Don't you get it, Shannon? We are stuck here. There are no phones, or dates, or any of the stupid crap you think is important. All you do is sit around, working on your tan and leaching off everyone else". Snatching the magazine out of her hands, he glared at her silence. "When are you going to grow up? The world is not here for you sole entertainment, Shannon."

Reaching for the magazine, she sneered back at him "Obviously. If it was I'd be stuck here with some interesting people".

Holding the glossy pages out of her reach, he stared down his nose at her. "You are such a waste, Shannon." Shaking his head, he stood. "People here are trying to make this a place to live, and you just sit around reading crap like this."

"Then I guess you don't want to read it. Too bad, you could have used the article about preventing breakouts, pretty boy." Reaching for it again, she snapped, "Give me the frickin' magazine, Boone!"

With a snort, he threw the magazine back at her. "I don't know why I even bother with you. You'll never change, will you?"

"Then why don't you just leave me alone …. I'm sure I could survive without your lame insults."

"If I didn't talk to you, who would? Nobody here even likes you, Shannon. You'd just be here alone."

"That's not -"she started.

"Not what, Shannon?" he cut in. "Not a big deal? God, you really don't care about anyone but yourself, do you."

"Whatever, Boy Wonder", she snapped and opened up the magazine to a random page. She heard him walk away, and softly closed her eyes. "It's not true" she whispered to herself. "I was going to say 'it's not true'".

She let the tears fall quietly on the pages of a perfume ad. A rustling behind her caused her to whirl around. She saw the Korean woman, Sun, standing quietly at the tree line, with some plants in her hand, and a look of sympathy in her eyes.

Looking at each other quietly, Shannon broke the awkward silence with a watery chuckle. "Hey, Sun. How come every time I see you, you catch me crying?"

Taking that as an invitation, Sun looked back over her shoulder, and then came to Shannon's side. Sinking down into the sand with an enviable grace, she put her arm around Shannon's shoulder. Momentarily shocked, Shannon hesitantly accepted the other woman's gesture of comfort. "I wonder how much you saw." Shannon mused aloud. "At least you couldn't understand what he said …. It's bad enough to catch me crying, thank God you don't understand why."

Looking out across the beach, Shannon missed the knowing look that crossed Sun's sad eyes. Speaking softly in Korean, Sun offered compassion.

Trying to lighten the mood, Shannon pointed at the plants Sun had brought. "What are those for?"

Sun reached over to the plants and selected a stiff, pointed looking piece. Speaking quickly in Korean, Sun snapped the plant in half, exposing the oozing center. Pointing to Shannon's scabbed knee, she motioned for Shannon to rub the plant on the injury.

"Oh, for my knee? Is this the same stuff as before? Thank you again, by the way. It helped." Taking the plant she rubbed the sticky sap on the scab, and listened to Sun speaking rapidly in Korean.

"I don't have any idea what you're saying, but, well, thanks for the company. According to His Royal Pain-in-the-Assness, if it weren't for him, I'd be all alone. Funny thing, I feel even lonelier when he's lecturing me. Anyway, um, thanks for … you know."

Bobbing her head and smiling, Sun continued speaking softly in her native language, showing Shannon how to split the plant open with her fingernail to expose more of the healing juices. Holding up the plant, Sun slowly said something in Korean, then looked at Shannon expectantly. Suddenly unsure of herself, Shannon fidgeted with the once forgotten magazine, seeking comfort from its familiarity. Seeing her reach for the magazine, Sun gently tugged at it, and again held up the plant and repeated the word.

Shannon, beginning to grasp Sun's idea, hesitantly repeated the word.

Her eyes dancing with mirth, Sun shook her head and said the word again, more slowly.

Again Shannon tried it. Grinning, Sun shook her head, repeated the word again, and emphasized the second syllable.

Smiling at Sun's determination, she tried it again. Nodding her head emphatically, Sun motioned for Shannon to say it again.

Saying it again, but this time with confidence, Shannon took the plant from Sun and motioned with it.

With a smile bright enough to light the night sky, Sun gave Shannon a half hug, and looked at Shannon with pride. Feeling good about herself for the first time in days, she giggled at Sun's "proud mother" behaviour. Together, the two giggled and repeated the word.

That was how Sawyer found them. Leaning against each other, looking at a shredded piece of plant, and alternately giggling like school girls and saying something in Korean.

"Now what do we have here? The Princess holding court?"

Caught up in the moment, Shannon turned her laughing eyes to Sawyer.

"Hey! I just learned Korean!" She held up the plant and repeated the word, looking to Sun for confirmation. "I have no clue what it is in English, but I can say it in Korean!" she said proudly and then dissolved back into giggles.

Taken aback by the happiness in her eyes, he was stunned to hear anything but haughty disdain from her lips. "Who'd of believed it", he thought to himself, "The Princess isn't such a princess after all".

Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by the do-gooder.

"God, Shannon! Knock it off! Stop laughing at her." Striding forward to Sun he reached down to pull her up. Turning his back to Shannon, he addressed Sun, speaking a tad too loud and a bit too slow, "I apologize for my sister's behaviour. Just ignore her. Everyone else does."

"She's Korean, Boone, not stupid. You don't have to shout at her." Shannon snapped, her haughty mask firmly in place, Sawyer noted.

Turning to Shannon, Boone, sneered at her. "When I said you should do something, I didn't mean make fun of other people. God, you never change do you?!"

"Did you want something, or are you just here to spread you loving sunshine?" she said coldly.

"I'm going up to the caves for water and foolishly thought you might help. But I guess I was wrong", shaking his head in disgust, he left.

Sun, aware of the tension, put her hand on Shannon's shoulder and said something gently in Korean. With that, she moved quietly back into the jungle to the caves, leaving Shannon alone.

"Aloe Vera."

Snapping her head up, Shannon saw Sawyer standing there, arms crossed, and head cocked to the side.

Defense mechanisms now firmly back in place, she snapped, "Excuse me?"

"The plant your friend showed you. It's Aloe Vera." And with a thoughtful, and suddenly too knowing, look on his face, he continued on his way across the beach.

Surprised at his lack of wise crack, she could only look at the plant in her hands. Reaching for the magazine out of habit, she flipped through the pages aimlessly, not really seeing anything.

Laying the magazine aside, she looked out across the waves.

"Your friend" she repeated, and smiled at the thought.


End file.
